Top 10 Songs by NEIL DIAMOND – Thursday’s Top Ten List

Created by Matthew J. Goldberg, tipofthegoldberg.com

A few weeks ago, I ranked the Top 10 songs penned by the wonderful Carole King. Today, I give the equally prolific Neil Diamond, who was born to Russian-Polish Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, equal time.

Neil Leslie Diamond, now 71 years old, has been writing, recording and performing (live) for nearly half a century. Diamond has sold well over 100 million records worldwide—which ranks him as the third highest-selling adult contemporary artist, just behind Barbra Streisand and Elton John.

Interestingly, the Brooklynite attended NYU on a fencing scholarship, and the school got their money’s worth when he helped the squad win the 1960 NCAA championship. He thought about pursuing medical school, but jumped at a chance to write songs for a music publishing company—for $50 a week.

Diamond’s work has been rewarded with massive sales (he has been credited with eight No. 1 hit singles), and recognized with some of the highest honors that the industry confers. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last year, he was an honoree of the Kennedy Center; he had already received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award (in 2000) for his songwriting success.

When it comes to Neil Diamond, his sword was mighty but his pen and voice have proved to be even mightier. What follows is one man’s ranking of the 10 best songs that Diamond both composed and recorded. If this list is not for you, it may be for your parents or grandparents—or maybe your children or grandchildren, for that matter.

10. Kentucky Woman

I’m not sure what Diamond had against New York or New Jersey women, but anyway: enjoy.

9. LONGFELLOW SERENADE

Here are the opening lyrics:

Longfellow serenade
such were the plans I’d made
For she was a lady and I was a dreamer with only words to trade.
You know that I was born for a night like this
Warmed by a stolen kiss
for I was lonely
and she was lonely…

8.  America (Coming to America)

Neil wrote and performed this for the remake of the Jazz Singer (1980), for which he wrote music and starred. Hey, he even got Sir Laurence Olivier to play his father, Cantor Rabinovitch. The film did not garner much critical praise, but Diamond actually received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor. The bad news? He won the Razzie for worst male lead performance of the year.

7. SHILO

This song features, arguably, Diamond’s most sensitive, introspective lyrics. Here is a sample.

Young child with dreams
Dream, ev’ry dream on your own
When children play
Seems like you end up alone

Papa says he’d love to be with you
If he had the time
So you turn to the only friend you can find
There in your mind

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came
And we’d play…

6. I’M A BELIEVER

Neil Diamond wrote and recorded it, but The Monkee’s release of the hit single preceded his own. This song is quite infectious; you may recognize Smashmouth’s version of it—from the movie Shrek.

(Personally, I’ll go with The Monkees here; hey, they’re all corny.)

5. SONG SUNG BLUE

This is one of Diamonds Number One hits. As he sang, everybody knows (at least) one.

4. SWEET CAROLINE

I thought about this as my Number One selection. It may be his most famous, and it’s hard to go to a Bar Mitzvah or wedding reception without hearing it. For that matter, it’s so catchy that it’s played in many stadiums to get the home crowd revved up.

As a bonus, check out Elvis Presley’s version, which may have been recorded for a Bar Mitzvah reception. A very expensive one.

3.  GIRL, YOU’LL BE A WOMAN SOON

Here is an unplugged version of the song that had Uma Thurman dancing provocatively (content warning) in the 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction. The film version was covered by Urge Overkill.

2. SOLITARY MAN

Don’t know that I will
But until I can find me
A girl who’ll stay
And won’t play games behind me
I’ll be what I am
A solitary man
Solitary man…

1. I AM…I SAID

Picking a personal favorite out of the totality of Diamond’s work is an almost impossible task. For whatever reason, this song has always stood out for me as a favorite.  Enjoy!

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That concludes my list of the Top 10 songs written and performed by the great Neil Diamond. If you have any observations or suggestions for this column or future lists, please comment below or send me an email.

Matthew J. (call him Matt) Goldberg will be presenting a Jewish-style Top Ten list every Thursday on this site.

 For information about Matt’s books, sports columns, speaking events and requests for appearances and custom writing, please visit www.tipofthegoldberg.com, or contact him via email. His new Facebook Fan Page (“to like, to like, l’chayim”) can be found here.